New Tasting Notes
Backlog.
I’m sorry, I kind of can’t get over this tea. I’ve been savoring my DAVIDs swap samples as treats for when I get home from work. I had the most AMAZING tea time last night, I ran an incredible bath with a bath melt from Moon Harvest that looked like a cupcake and smelled like lilacs and hyacinths. I had my birthday cake tea, and the new issue of Cosmo. ultimate relaxing.
On to the tea…I’ve reviewed it before so I really just wanted to write it a love letter on here. It’s sweet and vanilla-y and rich and creamy but I can still tell it’s a rooibos tea and the sprinkles are so cute I can barely handle it.
This gives me a whole new idea of “dessert teas”. This actually satisfied me as a dessert after dinner and it tastes so much like it’s bad for me. Are all DAVIDs teas like this?? Am I missing out as much as I think I am??
Backlogging a cup sipped with a friend after a hard and rather bland week. He usually drinks cheap Wissozky tea bags, and so having his pick of about a dozen or so black teas was a new experience for him. He picked this one based on its lovely caddy, and we both enjoyed it very much. Tea is such fun to share!
Had an other off these puerth mini cakes last evening. How surprised i was last time i’m getting more and more convinced this tea has a good taste but is not really my thing. I’m liking the 2nd and 3th cup most but and yes there is a but i’m missing the strong earth tastes from the cooked mini tuo’s! I’m not sure if i order this again even though i’m liking the taste, i’m not loving it… next time i order raw puerth it will be a sample first before i buy a 50gram bag!
Well… this doesn’t taste like strawberry rhubarb pie to me…. however I do like it! It tastes fruity and sweet, with an almost caramelly, lingering sweet flavour that I’m quite enjoying. I wasn’t sure whether or not to expect spice in here like Strawberry Pie Honeybush, but it’s not here, and that’s ok. I don’t really taste any rhubarb tartness (there may have been cause to use hibiscus here for that!!) however I like this the way it is. Tasty enough that I am happily going back and sipping this one all up (as I did with Weeping Angel and Caramel Apple). No ill tummy effects from this one!
ETA: SOOOOOO. The above review is most likely for PB Cup Honeybush, which, shockingly, shouldn’t taste like SRP at all, haha. So this well get another proper shot later. I’m leaving the rating, because I did just drink what I think was SRPH, and it was delicious, and tasted fruity and much more like strawberries. Heh. Read my PB Cup Honeybush note for an explanation :)
ETA again: Re-steep was mostly flavourless (and I’m positive that I have the right tea this time).
Preparation
So. Funny/possibly not so funny story. Last night I brewed up 9 cups of tea (yes, 9) and brought them upstairs. Six new 52teas, resteeps of Kamba Berry, Premium Taiwanese Assam, and the Premium Taiwanese Assam Upgrade. I tried all six of the new teas (so I thought), and didn’t drink the others. So, just now I went to finish everything off… and discovered that I had put one of the cups on a shelf that was hidden from view while lying in bed… and… it tasted like a rooibos. A fruity rooibos.
So. I’m about 99% certain that the tea I identified yesterday as PB Cup Honeybush was, in fact, a re-steep of the Premium Taiwanese Assam Upgrade. I mean, I should have known – it didn’t even taste rooibosy, just very plain. And now that I found this fruity-tasting rooibosy cup, I’m thinking that I misidentified Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Honeybush as well, and the tea I reviewed as SRPH was, in fact, PB Cup Honeybush. In which case, it was delicious!
So! My apologies for my temporary terrible rating of this one, as it was my own stupidity/tea brewing excess that caused the problem! I will clearly have to give this another shot later, and pay more attention to which cup I put it in. What I find somewhat amusing, though, is how I was able to convince myself that a peanut butter cup tea tasted like strawberry rhubarb pie. Also, I swear I was tasting the slightest bit of peanut in that assam. The powers of the mind, right? Yeesh.
ETA: Flavourless re-steep as well (the right tea this time). Ah well.
Preparation
You’re not alone. You might not have been around back when I did my main 52teas trials, but suffice to say that I, like you, have trouble with the flavoring for some reason. I always wished it weren’t so since 52teas has so many awesome flavors, but I now know better than to try again. :(
Well, it looks like I made an epic mistake in identifying which tea was which last night (see completely updated note), however yeah, the flavours just aren’t always what I expect/hope for. Especially in the case of the new genmaichas… neither of those was misidentified last night, and the smell of the Browncoat Genmaicha is actually still making me gag.
LOL nice, I’ve done that before. Tea musical chairs… which one will get drunk first, and will it end up where it’s supposed to? heh!
Haha well ok then! Glad you got it somewhat sorted out. :)
Well, after the unfortunate unpleasantness of the Browncoat Genmaicha, I’m not really looking forward to trying this one, especially as I seem to recall someone mentioning that it made them feel nauseated… :/
Luckily, the smell of this one is… better. Like strong, artificial banana. Like amoxicillin. I don’t mind artificial banana sometimes, though I prefer real banana (like in DavidsTea’s Banana Oolong). Either way, I’m smelling banana and toasty rice. Smells like a pretty decent combo. Fingers crossed!
Ok, well this one’s weird too, but definitely in a more drinkable way. It tastes much like one would expect, based on the aroma. Not super fabulous, but decently drinkable. I think I’ll let it “air out” a bit too, to see if it improves; I think I may have difficulty finishing this off just because I’m not some super fan of artificial banana, but I can see it being tasty when the mood strikes.
Preparation
Hrm. This smells really weird. And my package is all strangely bubbly – anyone else’s like that? Anyways, the dry tea smelled a bit strange, but the brewed tea is actually making me gag a bit. Smells kind of like chlorine?? Hopefully the flavour is ok…
Ehhhhh, this is… unpleasant, to say the least. It tastes chloriney (not from the water), and I can taste the genmaicha but it’s really overwhelming… Plugging my nose, taking a sip, and then breathing out during the sip makes it a bit more bearable, but it’s also kind of bitter.
Perhaps I’ll let this one air out a bit and try it again… I think this cup is going to have to be chucked, because I’m feeling a little nauseated now :S
ETA: Still gagging at the smell now. I had hoped it would dissipate overnight, but no such luck. I’ll be hard-pressed to try this one again…
Preparation
Even though I love this tea a lot I also think it smells funky. No bubbles however :/
It just seems to be the plastic that’s bubbly… I initially thought the tea was somehow wet, but that doesn’t seem to be the case, thankfully.
I had a cup, it was definitely chemical like. Not great when steeped but then I didn’t expect it to be just yet
My hopes are not high for this one.
Me neither, but 52teas has surprised me before. Fingers crossed
First impression: this tastes much like Pot O’ Gold. Kinda caramelly-sweet, and all that. I think I may have accidentally diluted it a bit too much, so the flavour’s a bit weaker than I’d like, but it’s good. Sadly though, this doesn’t have the amazing caramelly flavour of Cashew Turtle that I was really, really hoping for, but it’s a good enough blend. I’m finding it to be just a bit astringent/bitter; I need to try and remember to use my Finum filters for blends that have little particles that may make them bitter if they sit too long.
I will have to make sure that the boy warns me when we’re about to encounter the Weeping Angels in Dr. Who – IIRC they’re in season 3? And we just finished watching the sad, sad season 2 finale. :)
ETA: After sitting overnight, this one is actually BETTER. Tastes like liquid caramel corn in a cup! Awesome!
ETA again: Re-steep only has a bit of flavour, but it’s not great. Fairly typical for 52teas blacks, so I’m not too concerned! Just makes it easier to travel mug knowing I don’t need to resteep :D
Preparation
Yay you’re starting to get in to the even better stuff. And dear god yes it’s a sad sad ending. I bawled my head off lol
Oh yes, more Weeping Angels, even in the most recent season, and have your tissues too.
For whatever reason, I managed to hold it together throughout the last episode. My boyfriend is not fond of tears (ok, who is?), but that wouldn’t normally hold me back, I guess I just wasn’t feeling overly emotional at that time :P It was heartbreaking when the Doctor was crying though :’(
I told my DH about this tea and he was all, “Don’t Drink! Drink and you’re dead!” :P
hahaha oh man that’s funny heather
Bahahahahaha :P
Yeah, so then he said, “They didn’t think the name of the tea out very well, did they?” but I told him what the page said it was created for, and he was like, “ok” but then he is a man of many puns, so that’s what I get for telling him about it.
Yay, got all my teas today! It has been a week of wayyyyy too many new teas. My room is a disaster. Anyhow.
I of course had to brew up all my new 52teas first, since I have oh so patiently been waiting to try them! :D
This one definitely smells like caramel apples, albeit artificially-flavoured ones. I had no idea how to brew it, so went between my standard green and black parameters for 52teas, 2.5 minutes at 185F. Flavour-wise, this is pretty decent. There’s enough caramel to keep my happy (but I’d prefer more), and it does taste like apple, but I wish it tasted a bit less artificial. I’m not getting too much from the oolong (although it’s clearly there, otherwise this would be gross, watery caramel apple), but I’m thinking I should try a longer infusion next time to see if I can bring the flavour out more.
Glad I nabbed this one, and hopefully it will lose a bit of the “flavouring” taste with age!
ETA: Re-steep has a bit of flavour, but not much. Even with an extended infusion though, no bitterness! Yay!
Preparation
Backlogging. 2 days ago. Tuesday night.
2 mugs while studying. Thought drank half of the second steep cold the following morning. Even though I only have slightly less than half of this left, I’m already starting to hoard it a bit. It might be my fave 52teas blend, but I don’t think it’s one they’ll ever reblend.
Preparation
Backlogging. 2 days ago. Tuesday morning.
I had been thinking the previous day about trying to make a cowboy earl grey again since I was starting to run low on Caravan. My previous attempts came out more smokey obscuring the bergamot. So this time, a normal amount of leaf of earl grey and a pinch of Caravan.
First steep came out like earl grey and a cigarette on some sips and I’m-just-not-sure-what-this-tastes-like on others. Second steep came out more like I thought/expected this combo to taste like. I will have to experiment more.
Preparation
I got this as a sample. I prepared it iced and wasn’t expecting much because I typically only drink black teas that go well with milk. Just black tea and a bit of sugar – what a pleasant surprise! The grape flavour was juicy and crisp without being cloyingly sweet. Just enough sweetness. I agree with the grape gummy candy mention. I don’t know if I’d go out and buy a bag of this, but it was tasty nonetheless.
Preparation
I love this tea, and I know it was the favorite of one of our group members who came to my house tonight. He specifically requested that I make a second pot of Anna’s Blend, the raspberry yogurt black tea, but when I went to make it I saw this pouch and thought they might really enjoy this tea as well, and seeing as how we had already burned through two pots, why not make extra? Good thing I did, because this turned out to be his favorite.
This is a green tea base that is not grassy or sour but very smooth, rather like Harney’s Tropical Green base, which I believe is an Indian green tea. The strawberry is a nice hint of fruit, but the vanilla is really what pushes this over the top. Nice, nice touch!
I can’t believe we finished this pouch of tea tonight. And I can’t believe that I immediately thought, “Oh no! I have to get to Raleigh to get some more!” I NEED to sip down a bunch of tea without buying replacements! But I will be getting this one, because it is one of the few flavored black teas hubby likes. This is his replacement for Marco Polo, as he finds this one smoother, less fussy, and tastier.
Tonight was Writers’ Group night at my house and as usual tea was requested. I was shocked to realize that only three of us were drinking tea, yet we finished four pots this evening!
This is a nice black tea base with a fruity raspberry scent and a distinct sharp tang that is referred to as yogurt but that reminds me of that wonderful fruit topping made of sour cream and a bit of sugar, like Jason’s Deli serves. (The actual recipe is sour cream, a touch of orange juice concentrate or a bit of orange juice, and brown sugar. Mix thoroughly, then use for dipping or topping strawberries, cantaloupe, etc.)
My friends and I take it plain, hubby likes it with a wee bit of sugar and some milk.
I am not the biggest fan of dessert teas, but I might just have to try this one after reading your posts!
I only had one DAVIDsTEA rooibos blend and I was instantly hooked… All I can compare it to is comfort of pure and gentle love, sleeping on your mommy’s bosom as a child, bathing in cinnamon pudding… :D I looked at their other blends and they all look to me like very comforting and relaxing teas…
i’m at the point where i kinda have too many of the davidstea rooibos blends! and even though they kinda all seem similar at this point. i do still like them. creme caramel is my favorite. that and mint chocolate. which i occasionally add more mint to. (and more chocolate hah.)
(deep dark confession… i actually picked much of the sprinkles out of the birthday cake blend. blasphemous to a fan of the tea i’m sure! eek!)